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Last week, Lauren Hill of Mount St. Joseph University courageously took the floor for her first college game, refusing to let an inoperable brain tumor keep her from achieving her dream – and WNBA stars Elena Delle Donne and Tamika Catchings were on hand to lend their support.

Storm-Mercury Preview

By MATT BECKERPosted Aug 05 2013 2:07PM

The Phoenix Mercury are hoping Brittney Griner can have a bigger role in this matchup with Seattle after playing limited minutes in her return from injury last week against the Storm.

Of course, if Diana Taurasi again gets frustrated by Seattle's defense and the Mercury can't defend the perimeter, Griner's presence might not make much difference.

The Mercury try to avenge last week's defeat and avoid a fourth straight loss to the Storm on Tuesday night in Phoenix.

After missing five games due to a sprained left knee, Griner returned Thursday in Seattle but was limited to about four minutes per quarter. She ended up playing 18 and finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four blocks in an 88-79 loss.

Her minutes were bumped up to 30 on Sunday in an 82-76 win over Atlanta, Phoenix's first in four games.

"I'm excited to be back on the court," said Griner, who had nine points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. "I'm happy to be in front of the home crowd. I am just happy to play."

Diana Taurasi had a team-high 28 points and DeWanna Bonner added 23 for the Mercury (10-10), who snapped a three-game home skid in the opener of a season-high five-game homestand.

"It is always good to protect home court, especially in the second half of the season," Griner said. "To get this win, we just want to build from it now."

To win consecutive games at home for the first time in a month, the Mercury will need to end their struggles against Seattle.

The Storm (8-11) have won 14 of 16 in the series and have used strong perimeter shooting and tough defense on Taurasi to take both meetings this season.

Seattle shot 11 for 26 on 3-pointers in last week's meeting and made eight of 19 from beyond the arc in a 75-72 home win June 2. Shekinna Stricklen is 5 of 12 on 3s and Temeka Johnson 4 of 8 in the two games against Phoenix - the second-worst team in the league at defending the 3-pointer at 34.7 percent.

Taurasi is the league's leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, but she has struggled mightily against the Storm. The All-Star finished with 10 points and shot 3 of 10 before fouling out with 2:59 remaining last week, and had 10 points and five fouls in the first meeting.

The Storm are coming off a disappointing showing in a 90-72 loss to Minnesota on Sunday. They turned the ball over 21 times and trailed by as many as 31.

Stricklen had a career-high 24 points and went 10 of 17 from the field but the rest of the starters scored 35 and shot 11 of 31.

"I feel like we can do better,'' forward Tina Thompson said. "Not to take anything away from Minnesota, but I just think our intensity at times and just kind of how we were attacking their offense and getting away from our game plan at times put us in a position that we weren't effective.''

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Thompson leads Storm past Mercury, 80-65

By AL BRAVOPosted Aug 07 2013 1:43AM

PHOENIX (AP) A matchup with the Phoenix Mercury usually means a win for the Seattle Storm lately.

Tina Thompson had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists to lead the Storm past the Mercury 80-65 on Tuesday night in Seattle's eight victory in the last nine meetings with Phoenix.

Tanisha Wright also scored 19 points and Shekinna Stricklen added 13 to help the Storm (9-11) win for the third time in three matchups with the Mercury this season. Seattle is 14-2 against Phoenix going back to the beginning of the 2010 season.

``Sometime matchups in the WNBA they kind of go that way but I would definitely credit everything to our defense,'' Thompson said. ``Considering the lull we had offensively, I think we were very consistent defensively and that kept us in the game.''

Seattle shot only 29 percent from the field in the first half but still led 31-30 at the break. The Storm then took control in the third while Phoenix lost starters Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner.

Griner landed awkwardly on her left foot, hurting her ankle, with 1:47 left in the period. The team said X-rays on her left foot were negative. Bonner, the Mercury's second leading scorer, sprained her right knee with 4:44 left in the third. Neither player returned to the game.

Seattle scored nine straight points and outscored Phoenix 30-17 in the period to take a 61-47 lead.

``I think we were in a good rhythm,'' Seattle guard Temeka Johnson said. ``It's unfortunate what happened to DeWanna and Brittney Griner, they are both talented players. I just know we were in a good rhythm at that moment and we capitalized off it and kept going.''

Candice Dupree led Phoenix (10-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. The Mercury have lost four of their last five overall.

Phoenix coach Corey Gaines didn't talk about the injuries after the game, other than to say, ``Players have to step up. You want playing time, now you are going to get it.''

Seattle, the worst rebounding team in the league, outworked Phoenix 38-30.

The Storm also held the league's leading scorer, Diana Taurasi, to nine points on 2-of-11 shooting. She had five assists.

``Our concentration, first, primarily, is Diana,'' Thompson said. ``She's just that much of a weapon just for her team. We kind of concentrate on her and not let her get comfortable.''

``She can also distribute and create for her teammates,'' Agler added. ``We have a ton of respect for her because of her and the other people they have on their team, they are always going to be competitive.''

Thompson scored five of the Storm's nine straight points in a third quarter stretch as Seattle broke a 38-all tie.

Griner had nine points and four blocked shots when she left while Bonner had 11 points and four rebounds for the Mercury.

``We did not play well,'' Gaines said. ``Of course, when you lose Brittney and DB within minutes, it doesn't help.''

Seattle missing nine of its first 10 shots in the second quarter and was only 10 of 35 from the field in the first half. However, the Storm made six straight free throws in the final 1:23 to take the one-point lead at the break.

The Storm beat Phoenix 75-72 on June 2 and 88-79 on Aug. 1, both in Seattle.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited